Lot 127: A HIGHLY UNUSUAL NORTH AFRICAN BRASS TRILINGUAL HORARY SINE QUADRANT WITH HEBREW AND ARABIC INSCRIPTIONS SIGNED ISAAC, PROBABLY MOROCCO, 17TH-18TH CENTURY

A HIGHLY UNUSUAL NORTH AFRICAN BRASS TRILINGUAL HORARY SINE QUADRANT WITH HEBREW AND ARABIC INSCRIPTIONS SIGNED ISAAC, PROBABLY MOROCCO, 17TH-18TH CENTURY

A brass horary or sine quadrant of North African origin, likely Maghreb, dating to the 17th or 18th century. The instrument is constructed from a heavy brass plate in a quarter-circle form, featuring a dense astronomical and mathematical grid engraved across its surface. The top of the plate is surmounted by an elaborate pierced openwork cresting of scrolling foliage and acanthus-style motifs, with matching decorative brackets along the lateral edges. A large brass suspension ring is attached to the apex. A central pivoting rule, known as an alidade, is pinned at the vertex and engraved with scales and markers.

The instrument is notable for its trilingual inscriptions. Along the upper margin, a line of Hebrew script reads ה ר א ש ו ן ה ש ב י ע י (HaRishon HaShevii), translated as The first, the seventh. Adjacent to this is a line of Arabic script reading ب ا ل ل ه ا ل ت و ف ي ق (Bi-Allah al-Tawfiq), translated as With God is success. A third row of characters appears to be in Samaritan or Paleo-Hebrew script, used for alphanumeric markers. The main body of the quadrant contains a sine-cosine grid used for calculating time and solar altitude, with the arc featuring degree scales marked in Hebrew, Arabic, and Samaritan alphanumeric notation. The reverse of the plate shows similar mathematical grids and scales.

Provenance: Private UK Collection

L: 25cm